Robotic pool cleaning devices are mounted on rotatable supports, such as wheels, brushes and/or tracks, and are propelled or otherwise travel along submerged surfaces of a pool, tank or the like and, through the use of suction, thereby “vacuum” the pool surfaces over which they pass. The pool cleaning devices can be propelled over the surfaces of the pool by a directional or random water jet propulsion system, or by one or more drive motors that are coupled to (e.g., to the wheel axles) and cause the rotation of the rotatable supports.
The cleaning devices configured with an internal filtering system have an interior chamber with one or more filters mounted therein. The internal filtering systems are effective to capture and isolate contaminants and/or debris from portions of the interior chamber where it is highly desirable that contamination not encroach. The filtered water is then discharged back into the pool or tank as a pressurized stream.
The filter can be fabricated from a mesh material that is sewn into a configuration that is stretched over and/or held in place over a supporting open framework that is securely positioned inside the cleaning body or housing. Alternatively, rigid filter cartridges can be used in which the filter medium is a pleated web and which can also include an open mesh wire or plastic support to reduce collapsing of the finer pleated filter material. Filter cartridges are commonly cylindrical and include a separate flexible seal in the form of a ring that is fitted over the circular openings at each end.
During cleaning operations, the debris captured by the filter medium can eventually cover and block the porous filter medium thereby reducing the filtering efficiency of the filter, and hence diminish the cleaning operation of the cleaner. Presently, pool cleaners having one or more internal filters must be cleaned manually to remove and unclog the debris that is captured by the filter. The filters can be in the form of any well-known filter bag, screen, filter cartridge or filter canister.
When the filter becomes filled or its surface area is clogged with debris, the end user must remove the cleaner from the pool, open the cleaner to gain access to its interior, and disengage any fasteners that retain the filter in its required position within the interior therein. The filter is then removed from the cleaner and the debris is removed filter therefrom by hand and/or by running clean water over the filter, illustratively under a faucet or a conventional garden hose. Once the filter is rinsed and cleaned from debris, the end user manually reinstalls the filter back into the interior chamber by properly positioning and securing it therein, and then closing the cleaner housing. The pool cleaner can then be submerged back in the pool for further pool cleaning operations.
The maintenance involved to clean the one or more filters is not generally complicated, but it can be time consuming and require the end user to get his hands “dirty” to fulfill the required maintenance task of cleaning the filter. In addition, the end user must carefully reinstall the filter to its correct position and/or alignment within the interior chamber and properly secure it therein, since an improperly installed filter can cause physical damage the filter and/or allow undesirable debris to pass therethrough without being captured.